The Ending
by lifeblood
Summary: My first fic in theis pairing. One Shot. RR & enjoy!


1Disclaimer: If it was mine you wouldn't find it here and I'd be very rich. As it is, I'm broke and if you sue you'll get lots of nothing, 'cause that's all I've got.

Author's Note: This little bit of angst is my first completed foray into this pairing, which I happen to love. I appreciate reviews, and I will attempt to post the beginnings of the longer fic I am currently writing once I have shaped the plot line to my satisfaction. Many thanks to you all. Blessed be,

-lifeblood

This fic is dedicated to Dean, in memory of what once was.

The Ending

She stared at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. Four days before she had told him that she loved him. Three days before he told her it was over. He gave no explanations, had just told her to leave when she came to see him that night. She had cried, raged, screamed, thrown things, begged and pleaded. Nothing she did seemed to have any effect on him. He just told her to go, that it was over.

It was now the day before her graduation. She had been so happy when she had been accepted to AIB. The Alchemical Institute of Britain was the hardest school to get into in Europe. She knew he had written a recommendation for her, something he'd sworn he'd never do for anyone. Now it seemed like going to AIB was a punishment. A tortuous reminder every day of him. He who had taught her to love the art as he did. He who had pushed her away after she had confessed her love for him.

"Why, Severus? Why? At least tell me why you're doing this. Please," she begged him.

"No. Go away. This conversation and this relationship are over," he said coldly, turning form her imploring brown eyes.

"I loved you, Severus Snape!" she screamed in rage and frustration. "I still love you, damnit!"

He said nothing, just stared impassively at a point beyond her shoulder. Dejected, heartbroken, she turned to go. Just before she closed the door she turned back to him.

"I love you, Severus. Like it or not, it's a fact. I will always love you," she added in a low voice.

Astoundingly, he came to see her off the next day. He stood on the station platform staring woodenly at the departing students, a lonely figure in black, contrasting sharply with the brightness of the day. She came to stand before him, no tears this time, just sadness. For the first time in two days he looked down into her eyes. Eyes filled with love for him.

"Is this how it must be?" she asked softly.

"It is," he replied, emotionless.

She looked down for a moment, then back up into his fathomless black eyes. "I will always love you, Severus," she repeated her words of the night before with quiet assurance, vibrating like a steel wire. "One last kiss," she murmured.

She reached up and took his face in her hands, feeling the planes and angles beneath her fingertips for the last time. She didn't understand. No, she didn't understand. But she knew that she had to let him go, if that was what he wanted. She stared into his obsidian eyes, her own brimming with swirling emotions. She loved him, loved him enough to let him push her away, agony though it was. With these thoughts fleeting through her mind, she pressed her lips to his for the last time.

He didn't respond. She hadn't really expected him to, but...it tore something inside of her, realizing that he didn't want to kiss her. She stepped back, eyes closed, fighting for control. She would not cry now. Not here, bitter moment though it was. She looked into his eyes once more and then turned from him and boarded the train.

He watched her go. Watched her walk out of his life forever. She didn't look back, once she finally left him. He had pushed her away. He had to. He had done it for her. She deserved so much better than him. It had almost killed him, seeing her cry, knowing he was the cause of her pain. In the end, he held out for her. Was cold to her so that her future would be bright, untarnished by his darkness. He would never see her again, he would make sure. She would never know the shadow of a man he was destined to become without her.

No, she never looked back. Never saw the single tear trace its way down his cheek. Never heard his whispered words.

"I love you, Hermione."

It was first and last time he would ever say them.

Finis


End file.
